In a famous
study by Victor and Mildred Goertzel, entitled Cradles of Eminence, the
home backgrounds of 300 highly successful people were investigated. These
300 subjects had made it to the top. They were men and women whose names
everyone would recognize as brilliant in their fields, such as Franklin
D. Roosevelt, Helen Keller, Winston Churchill, Albert Schweitzer, Clara
Barton, Gandhi, Einstein, and Freud. The intensive investigation into their
early home lives yielded some surprising findings:

* Three fourths
of the children were troubled either by poverty, by a broken home, or by
rejecting, overpossessive, or dominating parents. * Seventy-four
of 85 writers of fiction or drama and 16 of the 20 poets came from homes
where, as children, they saw tense psychological drama played out by their
parents. * Physical handicaps
such as blindness, deafness, or crippled limbs characterized over one-fourth
of the sample.

How did
these people go on, then, to such outstanding accomplishments? Most likely
by compensation. They compensated for their weaknesses in one area by excelling
in another.

See: 2 Cor 12:7-10

Title: The
Soap that Floats

There is
a well-known brand of soap that has two uncommon qualities. It's known
as "the soap which floats" and is the oldest of the best-sellers. But it
wasn't always that way. Years ago
this soap was just another brand among many. Then a factory foreman blundered
by leaving a batch of new soap unwatched in the cooking vat during noon
hour. His lunch was delayed and the soap overcooked. Rather
than report the mistake and run the risk of dismissal, the foreman decided
to make the best of it. He shipped out this new batch anyway. It seemed
to clean just as well -- although now much lighter. The results
surprised everyone. Rather than complaints the company was deluged with
orders for this floating soap. The foreman was not fired but promoted when
he cooperated with company chemists to revise and modify the old formula
for "the soap that floats." Blessings
sometimes come from blunders. It's often possible to make something better
out of something bad. That's
the way God works with us. We don't often do right the first time, but
He's always ready to salvage the situation no matter how bad we make it.
(Rom 8:28)

Title: Burdens
that are Blessings

An old legend
says that at creation the birds felt cheated and hurt because they received
wings. Wings appeared to be burdens which none of the other animals were
asked to carry. All was changed, however, when the birds learned that wings
were not burdens but blessings that borne them to the sky. Because they
were given wings they could rise above the earth and see sights which no
other animal could see. What seemed like burdens were really blessings.

See: Gen 1:21;
Psa 55:6

Title: Hurricanes

I had always
thought of hurricanes as something mankind could do without. But recently
I learned that they are necessary to maintain a balance in nature. These
tropical storms, with winds up to 150 miles an hour and accompanied by
torrential rains, glaring lightning, and rumbling thunder, can be devastating.
Yet scientists tell us they are tremendously valuable. They dissipate a
large percentage of the oppressive heat which builds up at the equator,
and they are indirectly responsible for much of the rainfall in North and
South America. Meteorologists therefore no longer use cloud-seeding techniques
to prevent them from being formed. They are convinced that hurricanes actually
do more good than harm. The Bible
teaches us that the afflictions of God's people are like that. Though they
bring temporary pain and grief, they can produce eternal dividends. (Psalm
119:75)

See: Eccl 1:6;
2 Cor 4:17

Title: Treasure
in the Tragedy

A Christian
man lost his home and mill when a flood washed them away. He was broken-hearted
and discouraged as he stood surveying his loss. Just then he saw a glittering
object that had been uncovered by the waters. It was gold! The disaster
he thought had made him a beggar had actually made him wealthy. So, too,
the Lord often works through our troubles to strip away certain cherished
possessions to show us the better treasures of His love and power. How
thankful we should be that in every storm of affliction we have the assurance
that the Lord has a good purpose in view!

See: Jer 29:11;
Rom 8:28; Phil 3:7-8

Title: Norman
Vincent Peale's Advice On Problems ...

A problem
is a concentrated opportunity. The only people I have ever known to have
no problems are in the cemetery. The more problems you have, the more alive
you are. Every problem contains the seeds of its own solution. I often
say, when the Lord wants to give you the greatest value in this world,
He doesn't wrap it in a sophisticated package and hand it to you on a silver
platter. He is too subtle, too adroit, for that. He takes this big value
and buries it at the heart of a big, tough problem. How He must watch with
delight when you've got what it takes to break that problem apart and find
at its heart what the Bible calls, "the pearl of great price." Everybody
I've ever known who succeeded in a big way in life has done so by breaking
problems apart and finding the value that was there.

-- Personal
Selling Power, 12/92.

See: Phil 1:12-14;
Jam 1:2-4

Title: Fanny
Crosby

The famous
blind songwriter Fanny Crosby wrote more than 8,000 songs. This fact and
other interesting highlights in the life of Miss Crosby were revealed by
Warren Wiersbe in his book Victorious Christian. Wiersbe explained that
when Fanny was only 6 weeks old a minor eye inflammation developed. The
doctor who treated the case was careless, though, and she became totally
and permanently blind. Fanny Crosby
harbored no bitterness against the physician, however. In fact, she once
said of him, "If I could meet him now, I would say thank you, over and
over again for making me blind." She felt that her blindness was a gift
from God to help her write the hymns that flowed from her pen. According
to those who knew her, Miss Crosby probably would have refused treatment
even if it could have assured the restoration of her sight. Wiersbe
concluded by commenting: "It was said of another blind hymnwriter, George
Matheson, that God made him blind so he could see clearly in other ways
and become a guide to men. This same tribute could be applied to Fanny
Crosby, who triumphed over her handicap and used it to the glory of God."
Yes, this talented woman allowed her tragedy to make her better instead
of bitter.

See: Isa 42:16;
John 9:39; Rom 8:28

Title: Accepting
humbly

Early in
my ministry, I met a man named Worral. He had been stricken with rheumatoid
arthritis at age 15, and when I met him 30 years later, he was totally
paralyzed except for 1 finger, could barely speak and was totally blind.
But he had a string tied to that one mobile finger that could turn on a
recorder. He wrote for national magazines, authored books and led a happy
and influential life from his bed. This was possible because after initial
prayers brought no healing, he accepted his lot graciously and said, "Well
Lord! If this is the size plot in life you've staked out for me, let's
you and me together show the world what we can grow on it." Down the
path of humble acceptance, Worral achieved a happier and more useful life
within the limitations of very restricted circumstances than most people
ever will manage with excellent physical health.

-- Dr. Floyd
Faust

See: John 9:3;
2 Cor 12:9

Title: Death
does not stop influence

The "homegoing"
of slain Wycliffe linguist Chester Bitterman was not a setback to the work
of translating the Scriptures into the world's remaining 3,000 unwritten
languages. It was, said William Cameron Townsend, 84, founder-patriarch
of Wycliffe and its Summer Institute of Linguistics, "a tremendous advance.
Young people have been awakened in a new way." That this
is not pious sentiment or wishful thinking became evident at the Golden
Jubilee celebration of Wycliffe in Anaheim, California, last month, when
7,500 Wycliffe supporters paid tribute to "Uncle Cam" and Wycliffe's 4,255
members who work in 750 languages in 35 countries. Since the 28-year-old
Bitterman was kidnapped, then murdered 48 days later in Bogota, Columbia
(CT, April 10, p. 70), about 100 students at Columbia Bible College in
North Carolina, where Bitterman was graduated, have pledged themselves
to missionary service. Chet's widow, Brenda, has vowed to return to Bible
literacy work, and his younger brother, Craig, 21, has applied to Wycliffe,
hoping to be a Bible translator. And a new chair of linguistics and Bible
translation has been established at Biola College in La Mirada, California,
in Chet's memory. Said Chet's
father, Chester Bitterman, Sr., who, with his wife, Mary, and Chet's five
brothers and sisters were special guests at the Golden Jubilee: "On a human
level, Chet may have lost his life. But we believe that God is not finished
in this. We haven't read the last chapter yet."

See: Psa 116:15

Title: Castro
Sends Out Missionary

Bogota,
Columbia -- The keynote speaker at the Advanced Evangelism Explosion Seminar
in Bogota, Columbia, was Rev. Rodolfo Loyola, a pastor from Madrid, Spain.
His testimony was shared with UPDATE by Rev. R. Craig Strickland of Second
Presbyterian Church of Memphis, TN., who accompanied Woody Lafara to the
Seminar as a Clinic teacher.

"Sixteen
years ago, Rev. Loyola was a pastor and professor in Cuba. The Cuban government
instructed him to either abandon his faith or quit teaching school. They
gave him 15 days to decide. Rev. Loyola said, "I don't need 15 days. I
don't need 15 minutes. I won't be back to teach tomorrow." Several
days later, in the middle of the night, he was abducted and imprisoned
in a Cuban concentration camp for over two years. In part because of his
dedication to sharing the gospel with those around him, he was transferred
13 times to new concentration camps. Finally,
he was told by Castro's government that he had 30 days to find two thousand
dollars to take his family out of Cuba. Over the weekend, he and his wife
prayed for guidance, writing to family and friends in other countries.
Thirty days later, there was two thousand and ten dollars. So with ten
dollars in his pocket, Rev. Loyola and his family were sent to Spain where
he now joyfully exclaims that he is a missionary to Spain sent by Castro!"

See: Acts 1:8

Title: Analogies

I rejoice
in knowing that... There is
no oil without squeezing the olives, No wine
without pressing the grapes, No fragrance
without crushing the flowers, and No real
joy without sorrow.

See: 2 Cor 1:5-7;
2 Cor 7:9; Phil 3:10-11; Col 1:24

Title: What
it Means to Be a Christian Leader

Cal Thomas
found himself called a "Christian leader" by a leading Christian magazine
and he wondered what that meant ("Dear God, Please Don't Let Me Be a Christian
Leader," Fundamentalist Journal, May). More speaking engagements? Perhaps
an appearance on a Christian talk show? "It would
certainly give me the right to start putting Scripture references under
my signed name in books I have written. I would surely sign more Bibles,
which I find a curious practice since I didn't write that Book." Thomas
wonders if we have reversed things. God's strength is made perfect in weakness.
"In a church I once attended, there was a man of tremendous faith. His
wife is an alcoholic. His daughter has psychological problems. He was often
poor in health. Yet, week after week, he never complained. He always smiled
and asked me how I was doing. He faithfully brought to church a young blind
man who had no transportation. He always sat with the blind man, helping
him sing the hymns by saying the words into his ear. That man was a 'Christian
leader' if ever there was one."

See: Luke 22:26;
Acts 20:18-21; Phil 2:3-4; Col 3:12-13; 1 Pet 1:22

Title: Why
do you need this illness?

Bernie Siegel,
M.D., shocks his cancer patients when he asks them, "Why did you need this
illness?" He claims that our bodies break down to give us a message,
and many times it is a message that we have been ignoring. According
to Dr. Siegel, while nobody wants to be ill, many patients say that cancer
was the best thing that ever happened to them. They learned to appreciate
life and to express their feelings to their loved ones. They were
able to pick up the paintbrush they previously had been too busy to hold.
Even illness can be a blessing.